The Hunting Grounds
by Wolf of Winter
Summary: Graham remembers that he is the Huntsman, and tries to convince everyone that Henry's book is actually true, at all costs. He wants to switch his allegiance to Snow White & Prince Charming, but that's proving to be more difficult than it seems.
1. Chapter 1: The Hunted Hunter

**The Hunting Grounds - Chapter 1: The Hunted Hunter**

**Spoilers: Everything up to ep1.07 is canon, except the fact that Graham lives.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon A Time, nor any of the characters. I'm certainly not making any money out of this, it's just for my own amusement (and I hope the readers' as well!).**

**Note: I know that a lot of us are upset that they killed off Graham (myself included), so I wanted to write a fic where Regina decides not to kill him, and see where it would go from there. Ideas are welcome, and a beta reader as well if anyone's interested.  
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"How could he betray me? It's not possible, there must be something wrong," Regina mused when both Emma and Graham had left her standing on the outskirts of the cemetery. She walked back and forth in front of her father's tomb, and with each turn she became more agitated. Rage was filling up her veins, poisoning her blood; her fists clenched and ready to hit something or rather hit a certain blonde again. She didn't even feel the pain in her jaw where Emma had struck her any more; Adrenaline had replaced her pain and was fuelling her hatred for the both of them.

"How dare he reject and disobey me!" Regina stomped into her father's mausoleum, slammed the door shut and made her way to the secret underground room. She approached the wall full of little safes, where she hadn't been since the curse was cast 28 years ago. However, Regina had no trouble at all remembering where the heart of the huntsman lay.

The heart was warm and beating an easy rhythm. She felt comforted by holding such a vital organ once again in her hand. It made her feel the full extent of her power once again, an unbeatable feeling. The difference between life and death literally was in her hands now, a power she hadn't had to use during these long years in Storybrooke… Until now.

Her comfort subdued her rage somewhat, and gave her the opportunity to consider what she was about to do. Regina wondered if he could feel her hand enveloped around his heart right now. She couldn't resist giving it a little squeeze, and she felt the heartbeat quicken for a moment. A smile crept across her face as she considered how fragile it was, and the person whom it belonged to.

Regina carefully placed the heart back into its safe, closed the entrance of the secret passage on her way out, and walked straight home. She had a mischievous smile on her face, the whole walk back, and it was still there when she got into bed. Before she closed her eyes she made a silent promise.

"This is the second time you've underestimated me. You have no idea what you're up against. Let's see how you like being the prey, Huntsman."

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><p>Emma was watching Graham intensely while he disinfected the wound above her left eye. Earlier that evening she had witnessed how he stood up to the mayor, and left her. Emma might not have been long in Storybrooke, but she knew well enough how much courage it took to stand up to Regina, something which nobody dared but Emma it seemed. She felt her admiration for him growing, and she felt things that she hadn't felt in a very long time.<p>

"All better?" Graham asked.

Emma nodded, and as he put away the emergency kit her affection took over her expression. It was clear as day, and she didn't even bother fighting against it. Not many people had seen her so open like this. Normally she'd keep everyone at an arm's length, never letting anyone even approach the thick brick wall she'd built around her ever since she was young, but Graham had touched her in some way, and it wasn't until this evening that she really fell for him.

Graham didn't fail to notice the sea of emotions that were taking over Emma. "What?"

She stood up and closed the distance between them, step by step, all the while never losing eye contact with him. At the last moment Emma closed her eyes and kissed him very softly. Graham put his arms around her waist and kissed her back, but as she tries to deepen the kiss another flashback hit Graham, even more powerful than the previous ones.

It was all coming by so fast it felt like a whirlwind. He saw a deer, the wolf with the one red eye, the Evil Queen, himself with a knife raised to Snow White, his heart… It all came by faster and faster, until he couldn't keep up any more and fell back against his desk.

"Graham? Are you OK?" Emma asked worriedly.

"I remember," he replied with a tone of wonder in his voice.

She grew more and more concerned, as she didn't know what just happened and why he was acting so strangely. "Remember what?"

Graham smiled with a look of gratitude, tears streaming down his face and said, "Thank you." Emma returned his smile, albeit somewhat unsure. They leaned in for another kiss, and as their lips almost met, Graham suddenly fell down to his knees and groped for his chest. He found it hard to breath and it felt like his heart was being crushed.

"Graham!" Emma exclaimed. She got down to her knees beside him and tried to support him so he wouldn't fell over. "I'm calling 911 right now, hold on."

While Emma was on the phone, his pain was already subsiding, so he tried to convince her to cancel the ambulance, but she wasn't having any of that.

"Oh no you don't. They are going to check if you're really al right, no arguments."

He let out a somewhat painful snicker. "And here I thought that I was the sheriff and you the deputy."

The fact that he was still able to make jokes relieved some of the tension that Emma was building up. She smirked at him and replied, "Whenever the sheriff is indisposed, I'm in charge. Really, you should know that by now."

The ambulance arrived within minutes, and by that time Graham already felt much better, except for a light pain in his chest when he moved his torso. The paramedics took him to the hospital to do a few tests, just to be sure, including an ECG. Graham was happy that Emma was there for him. He always dreaded going to the hospital and certainly in this situation he didn't want to be alone there.

The tests and ECG came out normal, much to Emma's relieve. However, the doctor couldn't explain what had happened, and therefore demanded that someone would stay with him tonight, in case the complaints returned. The other option was to stay overnight in the hospital for observation.

"I'll watch him tonight, doc," Emma offered, after seeing Graham's face fell at the mention of that second option.

"Excellent, Miss Swan," agreed Dr. Whale, now turning his attention to Emma, "During the night, if there's something amiss, or if you don't trust what's going on, call us immediately. We'd rather have you call ten times unnecessary than not calling when it's needed."

"Don't worry doc, I'll take care of him." Emma shook Dr. Whale's hand, thanked him and left with a very grateful Graham.

**Note: Thanks for reading! Reviews always makes me happy and gives me an extra boost to continue this fic. :-)**


	2. Chapter 2: Dwelling Upon a Memory

**Note: Hey guys! Sorry for the late update, university got in the way. Thank you SO much for all the reviews, love them! And to clarify: This will not be a Graham/Regina fic. I'm planning on Emma/Graham, and a little Mary Margaret/David on the side (depending if you guys want that?). Leading up to the Emma/Graham may involve some Graham/Regina (Regina's got quite some evil things in store for him). Furthermore, I'm still looking for a beta if you're interested!**

Chapter 2: Dwelling Upon a Memory

Graham hadn't been taken care for in a long time. He had always been on his own, taking care of himself, even when he was with Regina. Their relationship, if you can call it that, had been a one-way stream. Graham was called upon when she needed her pleasure, but she had made it very clear that his own initiative wasn't appreciated, to say the least.

So when he saw Emma working as a busy bee in his house, taking care of him as if he'd had a major accident, he was very amused by this foreign sight. When they arrived at his house that night, it was a complete mess. The dishes hadn't been done in over a week, the living room was like a garbage belt, and his room was full with heaps of clothes splattered across the room. Emma shook her head when she saw the living room, muttered something about 'men', and began to work to tidy the place up. Graham settled himself on the couch, and objected to her plan.

"You don't have to clean up my mess, Emma. It's ok, I'm used to it."

Emma stopped for a moment to look at him. "In my experience, I feel a lot better much sooner in a tidy house, than when I'm in a pig's shed like this."

Graham had to smile despite of himself and said, "It doesn't bother me, really. Come, take a seat."

"You know, you really got me worried there, at the police station," Emma confessed as she sat down beside him.

He put an arm around her shoulders. "I know, and I'm truly sorry. I know what it was, the pain in my chest. I've felt it before… All I know is that my life isn't safe until I get my heart back. But where is it? Where did she hide my heart?"

"Graham, I told you, you have a heart. Here," Emma reached out to put her hand on his chest again, the same as she did that afternoon, but before her hand touched his chest he softly grabbed her hand and moved it away from him.

"No. I remember. I remember everything!" he said in expiration.

Emma's concerns returned once again. "You said that, after we kissed. What does that mean? Has is something to do with Henry's book? You know they're just fairy tales, nothing more."

"The book is true, Emma! They aren't just fairy tales, they're us!" Graham almost yelled in frustration, "The Evil Queen, she's keeping us hostage here, and she has my heart. I have to get it back, I have to! I need to feel something again, and I don't know how much time I've got left before she'll really crush my heart and kill me."

Tears almost sprung into Emma's eyes from the despair in his voice about something that just couldn't be true. She felt for him, felt his pain, but how could she comfort him when she thought that his despair came out of a delusion? "Oh Graham, calm down, it's gonna be al right. You've had a rough day and you're exhausted. Go to bed, and tomorrow morning we'll go see Archie."

That angered him. He stood up from the couch and looked down to her. "Archie? Dr. Hopper? I'm not crazy. How could you think that? I…"

"I never said that" Emma interjected, "Archie is a part of operation Cobra, I just thought you'd best speak with him."

"Operation Cobra?" Graham asked, a bit reluctant to believe her.

"Yes! It's a codename Henry made up for the plans and efforts to defeat the Evil Queen," Emma stood up and grabbed his hand, "Come on Graham, let's get you to bed. Stress isn't something you need right now. You need rest, and it's getting late."

Graham conceded and let her take him to the bedroom. While he was in the adjacent bathroom to brush his teeth and change into his nightwear, Emma dropped all the stray clothes in one of the corner of the room to create at least a little bit of space. Graham asked where she would be sleeping, and she replied that she would take the couch and would check in on him regularly. Graham objected to the fact that she would be sleeping on the couch, but Emma accepted no arguments. She bid him goodnight and went straight to the couch to lie down.

Before Emma came to Storybrooke she was a bounty hunter, and lying was a part of the job. She'd never had problems with it; Lying almost came natural to her. However, now she found out that lying to a complete stranger was something else than to a loved one. Emma had her alarm set to wake her after one hour, but sleep couldn't come to her. She had lied to Graham about the Archie part. She didn't want to go see Archie because of operation Cobra, but to give Archie a chance to assess his mental condition.

It hurt Emma to see Graham in this fashion. She didn't know where he had lost track, but what she did know was that he needed help. She did think that there were some strange things happening in town that didn't add up, but that didn't necessarily mean that Henry's book was reality. Emma felt as if she was in a maelstrom with her emotions and thoughts running rampant. But most of all, she felt guilt. Guilt for lying to Graham, and all she could do was hope that Graham would forgive her, eventually…

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><p>Emma thought that Graham looked a lot better the next morning. She made them breakfast, and while they ate she noticed that he was actually looking forward to their meeting with Archie; seeing his eagerness made Emma feel even guiltier. Even though she tried her best to push that feeling away, it wouldn't leave her in peace, along with the feeling that what she was about to do was downright wrong. Graham, however, didn't notice this somewhat gloomy mood of Emma's, as he was too engrossed with what was going on inside his own mind.<p>

They arrived around 8.30am at Archie's office. Emma said to Graham that she would check if Archie was available, leaving him standing in the hallway. After a knock and a "Yes?" from Archie, Emma entered his office and made sure that the door closed behind her again.

"Emma, what a pleasant surprise!" Archie started off before he saw the troubled look on her face, "But I can see you're not here for idle chatter. What's wrong?"

Emma looked behind her one final time to make sure that the door was really closed before addressing her worries. "Archie, it's Graham. Since yesterday he's convinced that Henry's fairytale book is actually true and he himself one of the characters. I'm worried Archie. Can you talk to him to make sure he's al right?"

"Hmm, I see your point. It's one thing for a ten year old to believe that this book isn't fantasy. For a grown man it's quite another. Send him in and I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you, I owe you one," Emma replied gratefully and slightly relieved, after which she left Archie's office to call Graham in, but the hallway revealed to be empty.

"Graham!" She sprinted down the hallway to the entrance of the building and rushed outside while calling for him.

He was nowhere to be found. Little did she know that Graham's hunting abilities had returned together with his memories, including his enhanced hearing. He had heard everything that was said in Archie's office, and he had run off in anger and disbelief, in search for the only person who could help him: Henry.

**Note: Thanks for reading! Reviews always makes me happy and gives me an extra boost to continue this fic. :-)**


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